My Destiny Is My Own
by nixglen
Summary: Harry disappears and the Dursleys are killed. No one knows where the child is until Severus is visited by the shade of Lily Potter.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: It is not mine

Thank you AngelAuthor14, Couldn't do it without you!

My Destiny Is My Own:

It was a dark night in Little Whinging. There was no moon, no stars, no lit windows. The only lights were the few streetlamps that had not been knocked out by some of the young hoodlums in the neighborhood.

Number 4 Privett Drive was just as dark as the rest of the houses in the community. Inside the house, if there had been light, one could observe an ordinary suburb abode. It was obviously owned by people who tried, along with the rest, to keep up with the Jones. There was no character, no original touches. It was almost a carbon copy of the interiors of the other houses on the street.

One exception to this was the small cupboard under the stairs. This cupboard had three large padlocks adorning the door. Two misty figures stood in front of the door, one of them crying in the other's arms. Green eyes looked up at the dark haired man who was holding her.

"How could they? How could they treat him like this? I knew Petunia was angry and that she hated magic but how could they treat their own nephew like this?"

"I don't know Lily, I really don't know. Come on, lets get him out of here right now."

Having said that the man turned, stooped over, and walked through the door. He appeared a moment later with a small boy in his arms. The child was asleep. He was also dirty, emaciated, and bruised. There were shadows under his eyes and he was so thin that his ribs could be counted visually.

Holding his child with one arm James Potter put his other arm around his wife and all three of them disappeared leaving the house as dark as it had been when they had first appeared.

()()()()()()()()()

Far away in Scotland, outside the small village called Hogsmeade stood an ancient, derelict castle. The people who lived in the village knew that looks were deceiving. Indeed, many people all over the country knew that the imposing castle was really an incredibly beautiful castle.

The people who realized the truth were part of a specific part of the population of the country. These people occupied the magical world of the British Isles. Wizards and witches had been coming to Hogwarts, as the castle was named, for a magical education for centuries.

While the shades of James & Lily Potter were removing their son from the muggles (non-magical people) two wizards were sitting in an office in one of the highest towers in the castle.

One of the wizards was very old with long silver hair and a long silver beard. The most notable thing about him was the twinkle in his bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a flamboyant set of red robes which were covered with gold and silver stars, planets, and moons. He had a pointed hat on his head which matched the robes perfectly. His name was Albus Dumbledore and he was the current Headmaster of the school.

The other wizard was younger and not nearly as flamboyant as the Headmaster. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Severus Snape was younger than his boss. He was tall and thin with hair as black as midnight (kind of greasy too). He had a hooked nose and dark eyes.

The two were quietly enjoying snifters of fine brandy, good cigars, and quiet conversation when suddenly one of the silver whirling gadgets in the room started whistling while red and blue sparks flew out of it.

"Severus something is wrong. The wards on the Dursley's house just went down! I've got to get the order to check it."

At the same time the younger wizard grimaced and grabbed at his left arm. "I'm being called Albus, I must go. I will check in with you as soon as I return." He immediately turned on his heel and disappeared.

Now Hogwarts did have non-apparation wards but there was an exception for Severus Snape, the potions professor. I'm not going to go into the whole history of Hogwarts and the magical community. If you need to know about it you can get a lot of it from any number of books. The History of Hogwarts is a good one. I'm sure you also know about the Dark Lord Voldemort and the small boy who survived the killing curse. Voldemort was dead, or presumed to be dead anyway and only a small handful of people knew where the child was. Although most of his followers were caught and sent to Azkaban, the magical prison, many of them still roamed the countryside under the cover of darkness.

I seem to be getting off track here. Anyway, Severus Snape was one of the Death Eaters. Everyone thought so anyway and several people had even seen the Dark Mark on his arm. Very few people however knew that Severus was a spy. He spied on Voldemort and now on the Death Eaters and reported back to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. His mark had not summoned him since Voldmort was vanquished but somehow it had summoned his this evening.

()()()()()()()()

Privet Drive was still dark when four people suddenly appeared on the street in front of number 4. Well, Privet Driver was still dark except for the huge fire reaching out of the roof of the house into the night sky. Most of the house had been blown to smithereens and the small part that was still standing was burning. The flame was so powerful and so hot that the fire fighters could not even get to it.

As the four stood there unobserved in the dark they overheard two of the officials on the scene discussing the fact that everyone inside the house had been killed. All four could feel the powerful dark magic that permeted the property. Having found out what they came for they walked away down the street and were never seen by anyone there.

()()()()()()()()()

As the four wizards were reporting to Dumbledore Severus came stumbling out of the fireplace in the Headmaster's office. He was disheveled and looked as if he had been rolling on the ground.

"Severus, it is grave indeed. It seems that young Harry Potter may have been killed tonight. The wards were indeed down and when the Order arrived there what was left of the house was aflame. The muggle officials on the scene were overheard saying that everyone in the house was killed."

"No Albus, Harry Potter was not killed in the house. But you are right, it is indeed very grave. Voldemort is back Albus, he doesn't have a body yet, but he is back. He has been in Albania, hiding in the Black Forest since the killing curse rebounded on him. He sent Death Eaters to the house, and finding the house unprotected they attacked, hoping to capture the child. When they got into the house they found three muggles, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, and their child Dudley. They tortured and killed all three and then destroyed the house. When the slug that Voldemort is today (describing his physical appearance) found out that they had missed the target he tortured each and everyone of us. He intends to leave no stone unturned until he regains his body and finds Harry Potter."

Dumbledore looked at the potions master with a determined look on his face. "We must find Harry. He will never be safe out there without us to take care of him. We must get him to a safe place." Looking around at the others in the room, he instructed them to conduct a search and to talk to all of their informants to try to find the child.

()()()()()()()

Stepping out of the fireplace into the living room of his quarters Severus poured himself a large glass of firewhiskey and collapsed onto the sofa. "Damn Voldemort! I thought I remembered how badly the cructias hurt, but I was wrong," he thought to himself.

As he was sitting there lost in thought he was brought back to the present by a small breeze blowing through the room. Now this was quite unusual because his quarters were in the dungeon and had no windows. Looking around he noticed the air in the corner of his room was beginning to glow. As he watched, unbelieving, Lily Potter's form slowly took shape in front of him. Since she had been killed the night her son was struck by the killing curse no one could blame Severus for taking a huge swallow of his firewhiskey and shaking his head to clear his vision. He looked again, and sure enough, there she stood.

"Severus Snape, don't you dare pass out on me! I need you! I need you to come with me. I need help and you are the only one I trust to do this for me. Please come with me. I need to take you to Potter Mansion. Please Severus, I will explain everything to you when we get there."

Receiving his nod she walked closer to him and reached out and took his hand. He felt a cool sensation at the touch and with one last look at him Lily waved her hand and both disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: It still belongs to her

My beta, AngelAuthor14, is going on vacation. So, until she comes back please overlook the mistakes, of which I am sure there will be many.

Chapter 2:

Instantly they were in the library of what Severus assumed was Potter Mansion. He wasn't sure how they had arrived. They definitely had not apparated they were just one place and in the next second in another.

"Lily, why did you bring me here? More importantly how? You aren't a ghost, I can tell that, but I know you are dead?"

"Yes we are dead Severus," spoke a voice from behind him. He turned to see another misty form in front of him. Wonderful! Just what he wanted to see after an extremely difficult day, an encounter with James Potter!

"We aren't exactly ghosts, but the spirits of ourselves. Normally we would never have been allowed to do this, but the Supreme Council is concerned about some of things that are going on here so they allowed us to do this."

Lily spoke up, "We will tell you all about it soon. Right now will you please come and look at Harry? Our son needs help Severus and you are one of the only two people of earth that I trust enough to turn to."

At his nod of consent she turned around and led the way up to the room that was set up as an infirmary where he found a small boy asleep in one of the beds.

The Potions Master looked at the child and noticed bruises and cuts all over the slight body. He knew Harry was eight years old but he was the size of a six year old. Waving his wand over the small form he winced as he detected many broken bones, some healed and some not.

Now Severus Snape was not called the Scourge of the Dungeons for nothing. He was much feared among his students and most of their parents. The few people who knew him well (and they could be counted on one hand) were aware of the fact that underneath the cold, cynical façade lurked a wizard who genuinely cared about people. It was this wizard who looked the the two spirits with anger in his eyes.

"This boy has been terribly abused. He has also been neglected. Are the Dursleys responsible for this?"

"Yes they certainly are! Lily and I went to their house and brought Harry here to safety. This house in hidden, unplottable and has as many wards as Hogwarts and the Ministry combined."

"I know that you have no great love for me Severus but Lily & I need you to raise our son. Will you do this, if not for us, then will you do this for him?"

"I have some potions here in my cloak, I need to take care of him now. We can discuss this once we have taken care of Harry. Do you have a stock of potions here or do I need to summon some from Hogwarts?"

After receiving assurances that they had everything he needed Severus started to work. First he cleaned the child and healed the cuts and bruises. He then proceeded to start to work on the more serious injuries.

()()()()()()()()

Four hours later an exhausted Snape joined the Potters in the study. Taking a cup of coffee and a snifter of brandy he looked at the two and spoke. "I cannot believe that anyone in this world could subject a child, any child, to that sort of abuse. The whole magical community thinks that Harry Potter is living in an undisclosed location. They honestly believe that he has been living in the lap of luxury and all the while he has been with those miserable muggles and being treated worse than the most abused house elf! Yes, I will adopt your son James, but are you sure this is wise? You are aware that I am a spy. Will this not make the danger to Harry even greater?"

"No Sev it won't. Lily and I are following a plan devised by the Supreme Council. They have it all worked out. The adoption will not be handled by the Ministry, the Council is going to do it secretly. Harry's appearance will be changed. Once the adoption is official he will literally be your son. He will have your blood running through his veins along with our own. This will make it possible for them to change his appearance permanantly instead of using disguises or glamours. It is not possible to reverse the procedure nor is it possible to detect."

Lily looked at him, "I had a friend in America. She was closer than a sister. I lived for a short while with her family when I was very young. She was killed by a muggle who was driving drunk when she was 19 years old. Melanie's mother is the only other person whom I trust as much as I trust you."

"As far as the world knows right now Harry has disappeared. We are going to keep it that way. Sev, we need you to go to Albus and tell him that you have to take a trip. Tell him that a family matter has come up. Be careful with him. Albus Dumbledore is not what you think he is, but I'll tell you more about that later."

Ruby is going to arrive here tomorrow or I should say this afternoon. After you talk to Dumbledore you will apparate to America. You need to do this because we are sure that he will put a apparation trace in place to see where you have gone. He will not however be able to trace you after the apparation itself. I wil be there when you arrive and bring you back here. Then in two weeks we will reverse the operation, only this time you will be bringing your son and his Grandmother back from America. You will then explain to Albus that while touring the continent after graduation you met a young witch from the US. The Council is altering Melanie's death records to make it appear that she was just killed last month and Harry's birth has been added to her medical records. You will claim that you knew nothing about the pregnancy or the child until after her death."

"But James, Lily, surely you are aware that he will at times be exposed to dark wizards! Are you sure that you want that? I cannot stop my activities with the Order and the Death Eaters now. Voldemort is beginning to be active again, even without a body. The miserable bastard!"

"Yes we know. We also know that they killed the Dursleys when the blood wards fell. Albus had no business taking Harry there in the first place. We didn't want him out of the magical community. These people are expecting my child to save them and the Leader of the Order of the Phoenix, supposedly the wisest wizard alive wants him to grow up knowing nothing of magic. No, what he wants is to be in complete control of Harry, of his finances, of his education, his friends, everything! Well, we have a surprise for him, it isn't going to happen that way," a very angry Lily almost shouted.

"Severus, as Lily said, it can't happen that way. Sure he'll be exposed to dark magicians, but we know that being a dark wizard doesn't mean that they are Death Eaters. Frankly, we feel that Harry is going to need to know the Dark Arts. After all, he needs to know what he is fighting and DADA classes are not going to be enough. After the adoption which will occur this morning Harry will have no memories of his life as it has been until now. He is going to remember life in America with his mum and grandmother. He will remember that she was killed and will be told that you are his father. This way no one will be able to do legilmens on him and see anything that could put him in danger. Voldemort himself will not be able to see anything because the memories simply will not be there."

Severus was also told that though Lily and James would return in two weeks to take them to America Harry would not be able to see them. They also told him that they would be able to return one more time, when Harry was old enough and ready to be told the truth. At that time he would be able to see and hear them.

Harry was checked and found to be resting comfortably so Severus apparated back to Hogwarts and went to talk to Dumbledore.

"Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?" was the last thought in his head before the apparated to America.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:No, not mine yet

Thank you so very much for the wonderful reviews. You have made me feel so good. I wasn't sure that I could do this and you have made it so much easier for me.

Chapter 3

Lily was in America when Severus arrived and after he had rested a few minutes they apparated back to Potter Mansion. When they appeared in the library Severus saw that Ruby had apparently arrived in his absence. She was an attractive woman in her sixties with beautiful blue eyes and long brown hair in which some silver could be seen.

Spying the two of them she approached him from across the rooms with her arms extended and a genuine smile on her lips. "You must be Severus! I am so happy to meet you; Lily has told me such wonderful things about you! The girl thought that you could walk on water." She then took both of his hands in hers and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek.

With that Severus Snape (The terror of Hogwarts Academy, The Bat of the Dungeons) did something that no one would have believed; he blushed. All he could say was, "uuuh."

Taking pity on him and seeing James making fun of him from behind Lily she laughed.  
"Please accept my apology Severus. I am too impulsive, as Melanie and Lily used to tell me all the time. I did not intend to embarrass you."

"Not at all Madame. You just took me by surprise for a moment. I assume you are Ruby? My new son's Grandmother?"

Looking sober the older witch looked at him, "Yes. I hope that this arrangement will not be too much of a burden to you. I will do everything in my power to try to help you with you Harry. I was so happy when Lily & James appeared and asked me to do this. We cannot let Voldemort get his hands on the child, and it appears that Dumbledore isn't much better."

Lily interrupted them. "Severus I know that you need to rest, but we have to go very soon now and there are some things that we need to tell you. Why don't you two sit down with some tea and we will get started?"

"You both need to go to bed and rest. Everything will be taken care of while you sleep. The adoption will take effect and after that Harry will have DNA from both of you. This way no one, and I mean no one, will be able to prove that he is not the child of Melanie Sautier and Severus Snape."

"The same thing applies to his magic. He will have traits from many magical bloodlines. Harry is going to be an extremely powerful wizard, indeed he has the probability is very high that he will be the most powerful wizard that has lived since Merlin. Harry is going to have all of the powers that Merlin had and more. This is why he is so important, not because he is the-boy-who-lived."

"The two of you have to instill in him the knowledge that he is the one who will shape his destiny. There are many out there who would love to shape it for him because of a silly prophecy from a drunken divination instructor."

James looked at Lily and she continued, "Dumbledore is one of the worst of these. Severus, I realize that you and he are close, but do not trust him. Oh, he isn't dark and would never do anything to harm Harry physically. He is manipulative and extremely devious. He wants to control our son for the good of mankind. Hogwash! He wants to control Harry because of prestige, power, and money. Severus the Goblins at Gringotts have already set up the accounts that belong to Harry in one large vault with your name on it. They have hidden the paper trail well so that Dumbledore will not know. For the time being he will still have access because we want him to think the only thing different is the fact that he can't find Harry Potter. Eventually the Council will take care of this problem."

"The Council also has restored Snape Manor. This is where you will bring your son and his Grandmother to live. It is also unplottable but Dumbledore and indeed Voldemort would expect that from you. Potter Manor now belongs to you until Harry is of age as do all of the Potter holdings. You can use it for any reason. It would be a safe place to come to when you are doing something or talking to someone that Dumbledore does not need to have knowledge of."

James too over from his wife, "Severus you will have to rename Harry. We will leave the choice of name to you but we need to have it now so the Council can put it in his memories when they do the adoption. I know you and I have had differences but I want you to know how very grateful I am to you for doing this for us. As Lily mentioned before, we are leaving and you won't see us again with the exception of the trip we will make to take the three of you to New York in two weeks. Spend that time with Harry. Be sure that you love him well because we do."


End file.
